Gardening 2020

[UConnSwag11]

What's everyone planting?

Just started tilling the garden and putting in new topsoil, moss, and manure. What do you guys do for weeds and insects? Specifically Squash Beetles and Creeping Charlie.

Looking to also do some self wicking raised garden beds. Does anyone use these?

 

[UConnDad]

Have some tomato seedlings growing inside. The pests are a pain. Composting your scraps all year and then using them in the garden is greatly beneficial.

 

[Kitaman]

We use the AeroGarden indoors and growing greens (collards, kale and romain) and will start planting outdoors in a week or so after I till the soil. My wife is the gardener and will grow squash, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, etc..

She solved the pest problem with netting hooked high to the fence post and pinned to the ground covering the garden. She just lifts it to weed and harvest. Stops the squirrels and rabbits for sure.

I wonder if putting/sprinkling used cat litter around the perimeter would help or harm the soil and help deter small rodents.

 

[andy34]

Haven't started any garden prep yet but we did trim and thin out the raspberries yesterday. Excited for the berry production this summer

 

[Waquoit]

I'm going to give the herb garden another shot. Rule 1: Don't plant mint. I'm a disaster though, I killed a cactus.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

My backyard is a disaster, mostly due to the fact that my 1890s home was one the workshop for an engine repair guy back in the 50s. He would throw all his junk in the yard and each year old nails/nuts/bolts come up.

On a warm January day, we cleared out a lot of the area and then last week I level the yard, put in new seed/pre-weed/fertilizer and then covered it with a layer of old leaf scraps. Ran out of seed, so got in a new order yesterday and plan on prepping another part of the backyard (removing rocks, metal, weeds) before the snow starts and then hoping to spend Tuesday leveling/seeding/etc.

Might be a moot point, but fun to be outside.

My wife is looking to start a raised garden this year, any tips would be greatly appreciated! Lots of southern light, but we are in a heavily wooded area, so our north side of the house is mossier.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

cool thread. I wanted to ask the like minded in se new england, if they noticed the explosion of jack-in-the pulpit this season.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

We use the AeroGarden indoors and growing greens (collards, kale and romain) and will start planting outdoors in a week or so after I till the soil. My wife is the gardener and will grow squash, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, etc..

She solved the pest problem with netting hooked high to the fence post and pinned to the ground covering the garden. She just lefts it to weed and harvest. Stops the squirrels and rabbits for sure.

I wonder if putting/sprinkling used cat litter around the perimeter would help or harm the soil and help deter small rodents.

lost cost 'garden defense' plan. bang 4 2x4s into the ground (corners). get ( oops (?) order online?) a three dollar package of at least 20 or so plastic covered, screw in eye hooks (3,4, 5 whatever each post). hang some deer netting starting at the top eye hook of a length at least a couple of feet past the bottom eye hook, close to the ground. thro some stuff (dirt, sand, whatever) over that part of the netting. voila! ground critter defense installed, except for the dopey snakes who try to negotiate that maze, and often get all tangled up in it, and then die. expect turkey vulture visits to appear if that happens. if you have a need to get all air defense (birds) too, just roll some more deer netting across the top, and, again, hook it to the posts.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

All of my perennials are popping up. Just in time for snow and ice tomorrow. Hopefully they’re hearty enough if they’re already coming through

 

[UConnSwag11]

Any tips for squash beetles and Creeping Charlie?

 

[sledog]

Raked the grden beds out, but not yet the veggie. Time to drop the cowshoot on the roses. And hoe it in. Town supplied first mulch this week, but closed mulch pile due to corona. Smells good!

 

[CTBasketball]

I’ve got a 80’ x 20’ patch tilled and ready to go. This year I’m planting a lot of heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, hot peppers, romaine lettuce, spinach, and green beans. Has anyone grown tobacco?

I also have mint, basil, and thyme inside.

 

[UC313]

Spent 6 hours on some seriously neglected hydrangeas.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Just moved a hydrangea, planted a couple of boxwoods and spread some Milorganite around yesterday. Now it's snowing...

 

[sledog]

Spent 6 hours on some seriously neglected hydrangeas.

What did you do??

 

[UC313]

What did you do??

Got rid of all the deadwood, rotten branches and gobs of leaves and junk that had accumulated at the base. 4 wheel barrels full. I left all the branches that have new buds on them and trimmed them back just above a healthy set of buds to reshape them.

Im still learning them a bit. Some hydrangeas flower on old wood, some on new wood. The ones that flower on the old wood (last years growth) need to be trimmed in late winter / early spring.

 

[tykurez]

I need to figure out the tent caterpillar situation this year - last two years they’ve ravaged my apple trees. Any tips on getting ahead of them?!

 

[ColchVEGAS]

Sadly no garden for me this year. Moved to a new house last summer and will not have enough time to prep and set up a new garden area. Hoping the family that purchased my old house took care of and continues with all the vegetables and herbs I left behind for them in the almost 700 sq. ft. garden I built. I used to get so much done before my two young kids came along. Hopefully my two year old will be a good farm hand in a few years because I want to at least double my garden size with all the extra land I have now.

 

[storrsroars]

I'm screwed this year. Probably a good 4-6 weeks before my knee injury would allow me to rake out the crap in my beds. Can't even push a lawnmower at present. Guess I'll content myself with hand pulling lawn weeds.

 

[auror]

I'm just playing Animal Crossing instead.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Trying out some Ginger and Turmeric this year. We'll see if it takes. Hoping I have better luck with Tomatoes and Peppers this year, blight got them last year.

Still looking for some tips on squash beetles. They decimated a couple of our plants last year

 

[UC313]

Im no good with veggies but ive trimmed back and shaped my hollys, cleaned up a mini japanese maple, cut all the way back some whateverthetares that were choking the maple, cleaned the fence line by 4’ and removed a whole bunch of vines. Half the yards raked too. Im crushin the spring clean up. I may even tackle reshaping about 40’ of forsythias.

 

[White Dwarf]

Tomatoes, Eggplant and some peppers so far in my victory garden.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

I'm a gardening noob. But I would love to be able to supply or at least significantly supplement my veggie intake someday.

For this year, I have a raised bed in progress. 10'x4'. I didn't build it until mid-March, and since then I've been trying to build a healthy soil bed. Small bits of sticks, leaves and straw, food compost, and manure. That's whatwe have so far. I water it daily and I rotate between covering it and leaving it open. Hoping it is ready for topsoil in mid-late April.

I also have a small bed at ground level. I am tilling it row by row, as I plant. Today I planted spinach. I will be happy with whatever it gives me. I'm looking at this year as more of a soil- building year than anything.

 

[UCSouth]

One of the benefits of living in South Alabama, I picked some radishes and romaine lettuce today. Can't get much better than that. All of my tomato plants are flowering as are a couple of my zucchini plants. So far the only thing that hasn't popped out of the ground is my pumpkin plants.